Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American
hip hop recording artist from
Compton, California. Lamar embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the
moniker K-Dot, released a mixtape which garnered local attention and led to his signing with
Carson-based independent record label
Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Lamar began to gain major recognition in 2010 after his first retail release,
Overly Dedicated. The following year, he released
Section.80, his first
independent album, exclusively through
iTunes. The album included Lamar's debut single, "
HiiiPoWeR". By that time, Lamar had amassed a large internet following and had already worked with several prominent artists in the hip hop industry, including
The Game,
Snoop Dogg, and
Busta Rhymes.